CODING4INTEGRITY: TECHNOLOGY CAN BE AN ENTRY-POINT FOR YOUTH TO IGNITE POSITIVE CHANGE |
Atlanta, United States, 12 December 2023 — During the 10th session of the Conference of States Parties (CoSP10) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) held in the United States of America, countries, international organizations, civil society organizations, academia and youth gathered to discuss the achievements of international, regional and national anti-corruption efforts during the past two decades. One of the priorities of the host country of CoSP10 was to make it as inclusive as possible by supporting the participation of non-governmental actors – civil society organizations, representatives from academia and the private sector and young people. For the first time, young people participated not only in various events throughout the conference but also in the conference itself, to remind delegates how corruption impacts the life of millions of youth around the world.
The important role of young people and how to meaningfully engage them in preventing and fighting corruption was mentioned by several countries and discussed in several special events that took place during the conference. One of the special events, “Coding4Integrity: Technology to fight corruption”, organized by the State of Qatar, with support from UNODC’s GRACE initiative, showcased what young people can achieve when we empower them to use their creativity and skills to prevent corruption and the role technology has in this.
The winners of the first Coding4Integrity Hackathon, organized by the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority of Qatar, UNODC and Microsoft in September 2023, demonstrated in Atlanta why it is key to involve young people.
In what resulted as a resounding celebration of anti-corruption being a duty of all levels of society, the high-level event held in Atlanta provided an opportunity to the three hackathon winning teams to present their technology projects and prove to States parties to the UNCAC that technology can be a formidable way to open up impactful spaces for youth to contribute to anti-corruption efforts.
“Our aim is to provide a fair and transparent recommendation system that assists evaluating committees in selecting the most suitable supplier using AI tools”, said Yasmine Lamaa, member of Team CodeBreakers from Lebanon, when describing their “ProcureGuard” e-digital procurement platform, that promises to bridge integrity and transparency.
In order to innovate and create behavioral change, we must start at early age. Corruption and dishonesty in educational settings provide a breeding ground for corruption. Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers a solution to prevent, detect and tackle cheating and corruption in testing centers. “Our security system offers a multi-layered security approach, including ID verification, dual-camera monitoring, eye tracking, behavioral analysis, and our unique feature, ProctorPal - an AI chatbot that simulates an instructor's presence and reinforces academic integrity. Additionally, our "fair-player NFT" rewards honest students, gamifying the learning experience”, continued Yasmine Fazazi, member of Team Ravens from Morocco.
Finally, a real whole-of-society approach to corruption, must be accessible to vulnerable workers and individuals by offering safe and secure platforms where to blow the whistle and report corruption practices without fears of personal victimization. Fatima AlGhamdi, speaking on behalf of the Hamt Tuwaiq team from Saudi Arabia, presented the “IntegrityHub” AI-based platform as “a mobile application, supporting 100 different languages, that utilizes advanced speech-to-text technology and data engineering, to convert voice reports into text while ensuring the whistleblower's anonymity through intelligent redaction of personal details.”
In the fight against corruption, every voice counts, every skill must be harnessed, every dedication must be cultivated. The future is now, and it is up to us to invest in youth and technology to unite us all against corruption.